Paradise Lost (Penguin Classics)

Book Description

Edited with an introduction and notes by John Leonard.

Customer Reviews:

Timeless Classic.......2007-08-09

John Milton's "Paradise Lost" is a timeless classic. It's imagery, based itself upon 1500 years of previous Christian-cultural imagery, has shaped how the Western world views Christianity, sin, the fall, life, death, heaven, and hell.

The open-minded non-Christian reader would do well to read "Paradise Lost" to become a literate student of Christian imagery. The Christian, willing to work through the descriptive poetry, will gain new insight into Creation, Fall, and Redemption. In many ways, Milton bridges eras (the Middle Ages and the Reformation), cultures (Southern Europe and Northern), and religious groups (Catholic and Protestant).

It's interesting how much "folk theology" owes itself to Milton's "Paradise Lost." Modern views of the Devil, in particular, are often unknowingly based upon the poetic images from Milton. Fortunately, Milton is at his best in describing Satan, first as the unfallen Lucifer with all his glorious, God-created brilliance, and then as the fallen False Seducer in all his distorted and tormenting deceit.

For example, Milton speaks of how revenge, dark requital, propelled Satan's monstrous motives:

To waste his whole Creation, or possess all as our own, and drive as we were driven, the puny habitants, or if not drive, seduce them to our Party, that their God may prove their foe, and with repenting hand abolish his own works. This would surpass common revenge, and interrupt his joy in our confusion and our joy upraise in his disturbance; when his darling Sons hurled headlong to partake with us, shall curse their frail Original, and faded bliss, faded so soon (Milton, Paradise Lost, p. 40).

Surpassing common revenge, Satan lives to spite the Author of life.

By Satan, and in part proposed: for whence, but from the Author of all ill could spring so deep a malice, to confound the race of mankind in one root, and Earth with Hell to mingle and involve, done all to spite the great Creator? (Milton, Paradise Lost, p. 41).

Milton's depiction of the temptation in the Garden displays psychological brilliance and biblical insight into the nature of the human personality as designed by God and depraved by sin. Perhaps only C. S. Lewis' "Screwtape Letters" matches Milton's understanding of Satanic seduction.

For instance, so whose fault their fall? Milton, imagining God's words to Christ, declares:

For man will hearken to his glozing lies, and easily transgress the sole Command, sole pledge of his obedience. So will fall he and his faithless Progeny. Whose fault? Whose but his own? Ingrate, he had of me all he could have; I made him just and right, sufficient to have stood, though free to fall (Milton, Paradise Lost, p. 63).

Well put. Sufficient to have stood, though free to fall. Made just and right and able to choose. Adam and Eve had all they could have from the generous hand of God, yet they transgressed the sole command, the sole pledge of loving, trustful obedience. Loving allegiance they chose to grant to non-god rather than to Father God.

Whatever could possess them to trade their birthright for one bite of the one forbidden fruit? When we last spied earth's Villain, he was tumbling toward hell. Having lost the battle for heaven, his hostility and hate triggers a new plan. Why a second siege on heaven's gates, when earth's shores suggest easier prey? As Milton envisioned it:

Nor will occasion want, nor shall we need with dangerous expedition to invade Heaven, whose high walls fear no assault or siege, or ambush from the Deep. What if we find some easier enterprise? There is a place (if ancient and prophetic fame in Heaven err not), another World, the happy seat of some new Race called Man, about this time to be created like to us, though less in power and excellence, but favored more of him who rules above. So was his will pronounced among the Gods, and by an oath, that shook Heaven's whole circumference, confirmed (Milton, Paradise Lost, pp. 39-40).

Readers also could benefit from his less known work, "Paradise Regained." Many have mentioned how difficult it is to write a riveting book about Heaven since the drama of evil is defeated and thus the tension is deflated. Yet Milton captures one possible vision of a future Paradise/Heaven as well as most. (Randy Alcorn's book "Heaven" is, in my opinion, the best modern book on the topic).

The Greatest Writing in the English Language.......2007-02-03

There's enough already said about why and how Milton wrote this book, so I don't have anything to say about that. It's a story most people will be familiar with, and any surprises will involve the beauty of the language or a random, surprising insight into a character's motivation. In the end, Milton deserves to be called the greatest writer in English because of the pure strength and beauty of each individual sentence.

This is undoubtedly a difficult book to read. I teach a small bit in a sophomore high school English class, and I tell them, "This will be the most complex text you will encounter this year." We have to practice unpacking sentences one at a time and stating them in our own words in order to get their meaning. It's a slow process, and one that most adults will also need to go through.

But it's all worth it! Reading Milton might or might not change your view of God and man, but absorbing him will change your love of language. The words are vivid and powerful and beg to be read aloud. If you like your poetry Great in the sense of sounding larger than life and tackling humanity's major questions, Milton is it. (And, in my opinion, he even takes out other wonderful poets that I also love, including Dante, Virgil, Homer, and Shakespeare).

A timeless classic of English literature.......2006-10-13

Justly placed at the head of the canon of Western literature behind Shakespeare and Dante by Harold Bloom, Milton stands as a towering creative genius in English literature and epic poetry.

Milton conceived of his vast epic as a way to justify the 'ways of God to man.' Strangely, the character of Satan is absolutely central to this epic more so even than Adam and the rest of humanity, and often one can't help comparing Satan and his journeys and battles against misfortune as akin to those of other great literary heroes, such as Prometheus, Odysseus or Aeneas. I feel in a way the message of Milton is more than just good Protestant Christian apologetics; if you read his passionate and brilliant defense of freedom of the press and of thought in works like Aeropagitica, I am sure Milton in a way showed the power of free choice and what heights it allows any being to soar to, even those who are damned. I always get a sense from reading Milton a great trust in the human spirit and an expectation to rise against tyranny.

While ultimately I feel Milton does not really justify the 'ways of God to man' in an intellectually satisfying way, and his vision lacks the brilliant unity of that of Dante, Milton is certainly a poet and genius of first order and probably the greatest writer in English after Shakespeare. His poetry contains great depth and beauty, not just the Paradise Epics but many other poems as well, and his learning and erudition are immense.

In Milton there is a great confidence in human reason and in the individual to prevail in the face of disaster and hardship. One can't help but admire Satan's stubborness and determination in the face of so much which goes against him, and his incredible efforts to achieve his goals. If you ever wanted an example of 'self-help' look no further than the devil in Milton; despite the most hopeless situations he never gives up. Perhaps conciously or unconciously Milton embodies in Satan and also in Samson our own present confidence in our creative abilities and our determination and intelligence to overcome any obstacles in our way, and perhaps in a world as turbulent as ours, that isn't such a bad hope to have after all.

A God Worthy of Respect, if not Praise.......2006-08-29

Sufficiency is fluid. There is nothing that in Paradise Lost that can be described as simple. But sufficiency in the eyes of God, Adam and the various obedient angels consists of doing God's will and using the gift of free will given to all his sentient creatures to extol his greatness. Before the falls, both of the rebel angels and of Adam and Eve, the relation between God and his creations is almost always one to one and direct. God makes his creatures sufficient to withstand any and all evil, but by investing all with free will gives them the choice of whether or not to embrace the evil. Suffiency lies within all sentient creatures to do God's will, but one can only be proved sufficient by doing God's will. In short, to be sufficient in God's eyes is to do his will--no matter what!

That suffiency is fluid is vaguely clear through out the poem. There is never one definition of perfectly righteous or good behavior. Satan and the rebel angels needed only to accept Messiah as God and King; Adam and Eve needed only not eat of the tree of knowledge; Michael, Gabriel, and company had to take part in that farce of fight for heaven; Enoch, Noah, Moses and Jesus showed their suffiency by standing up for God against humanly impossible odds. The lists of lesser examples in the poem are too numerous to recite and keep this essay readable, but it is more than reasonable to conclude that depending on the situation anything from indifferent obedience to militant martyrdom will be sufficient. But, constant obedience is always the rule.

The same rule of suffiency should be applied to Paradise in a slightly modified form. God is the greatest of planners because he knows all. Knowing all, he makes plans for every consequence of every action. Had Adam and Eve resisted Satan in the garden, then it would have proved sufficient for two beings who did not know good or evil. That would have proved enough of a mockery to the aims of Satan, but after the fall God ordains it necessary to show that everything Satan ever does to mankind is utterly futile and leads only to more punishment and increase of pain. The fact that he will make the supreme greatness of mankind come from evil means shows his power to be without end, and Satan's unwillingness to accept this is what will ultimately destroy him and his host of rebels at history's conclusion.

The entire question of suffiency of all virtues is the meditation of Milton from the poem's beginning to the close. What is constantly necessary to remember in this poem is the distinction between virtue, or power, and true virtue, power used to celebrate and defend good. Milton uses this distinction to turn epic virtues on their head by investing Satan with so many of them. Satan is fearless, uncompromisingly defiant, willing to fight by whatever means are provided to him and he is inspiring. We can see shades of Aeneas, Odysseus, Scaevola, the Earl of Kent from King Lear, and numerous other literary and historical figures that seethed with defiance and did everything in their power to defy and defy and defy. What all characters put forth have in common though is that they used their powers in defense of people, home, freedom, and friendship. Satan uses the power still invested in him, his "courage never to submit or yield" to try to destroy, not create. Comically, he even seems to realize that he can, at best, be a mild irritant to God this way:

...If then his Providence
Out of our evil seek to bring forth good,
Our labour must be to pervert that end,
And out of good still find means of evil,
Which oft-times may succeed, so as perhaps
Shall grieve him, if I fail not, and disturb
His inmost counsels from their destined aim. (I, 162-68)

This is power so completely abused that it barely requires further explication. Suffice it to say though, this is the same valor that we find in Adam when we are introduced to him for the first time in book IV, and that he disdains using in book IX when he chooses to follow Eve's lead by eating the forbidden fruit. Where the true virtue of the obedient angels and the classical epic heroes lies in their motivation for undertaking feats of violence, Satan's hatefulness, which grows as he further resists God, lies in the fact that he uses all his powers and intellect in the service of conquest, destruction, and wickedness. As becomes clear by the poem's end, when Michael shows Adam the tyranny of Nimrod, valor when in the service of wickedness is not a true virtue. True virtue and greatness can only come through God's favor.

Here it seems appropriate to move from suffiency in beings and their actions to the suffiency of Paradise. As Raphael points out in book VII, creation of the world and mankind took place in order show Satan and the rebel angels their superflousness by filling what they could have defined as a void when they were banished from Heaven. God loves all his creatures for the obedience and love they show him. But part of the nature of being omnipotent is that nothing is inexpendible and no thing is outside of his purview. Existence itself is by God's sufferance and for any permanence of good to come of a beings existence this must be accepted as indisputable. Milton's Satan would not be Milton's Satan if he accepted this necessity. He even had a chance to accept it in book II had he advised the Stygian council to accept the advice of Mammon--one who hates God as much as Satan:

...Let us not then pursue
By force impossible, by leave obtained
Unacceptable, though in Heav'n, our state
Of splendid vassalage, but rather seek
Our own good from ourselves, and from our own
Live to ourselves, though in this vast recess,
Free, and to none accountable, preferring
Hard liberty before the easy yoke
Of servile pomp. Our greatness will appear
Then most conspicuous, when great things of small,
Useful of hurtful, prosperous of adverse,
We can create, and in what place soe'er
Thrive under evil, and work ease out of pain
Through labour and endurance. (II, 249-262)

God's wrath is infinite when provoked, and expulsion from Heaven is the punishment for attempting to conquer Heaven. There is no reason to believe that his ire would have been raised had the rebel angels simply accepted their punishment, because the punishment and the concomitant agony that the disobedient angels suffer would have been sufficient. The further disobedience of Satan is what makes more punishment necessary, hence the periodic metamorphosis into serpents the rebels undergo after Satan's return from Earth. Again, suffiency of actions by God becomes defined solely by decisions made by his creations. By seducing Adam and Eve, Satan showed God that banishment was not sufficient to quell his pride. Also, Adam and Eve showed themselves insufficiently obedient to deserve Paradise. It became necessary for God to alter all of their conditions in order to punish Satan accordingly, further dash his pride. For Adam and Eve the punishment was death and the misery of history. They proved insufficient of Paradise, nothing in Paradise itself was imperfect, insufficient, let alone deficient, accept for them after the fall.

God is the creator of infinite possibility in all his sentient creatures. He should not be viewed as the writer of a book with a singular vision who preordains events to make a specific conclusion. That would be fate or destiny and God did not impose these upon human existence. God has total foreknowledge of all events, but he explains to Messiah that this is irrelevant because free will gives all his creations choice. They would be worthless otherwise because,

Not free, what proof could they have giv'n sincere
Of true allegiance, constant faith or love,
Where only what they needs must do, appeared,
Not what they would? What praise could they receive?
What pleasures I from such obedience paid,
When will and reason (reason also is choice)
Useless and vain, of freedom both despoiled,
Made passive both, had served necessity,
Not me. (III, 103-111)

There needs to be the constant possibility of evil arising for good to mean anything. Good is totally impotent without the contrast of evil, in fact it arguably can not exist without it. Automaton praise would not be real praise of God.

When discussion of the suffiency of Paradise comes up in any definition of suffiency we enter into very dangerous territory. Adam and Eve voice no complaints about Paradise; they do not imagine the possibility of being happier than they are prior to their fall. Disobedience to God remains a constant possibility because of the absolute existence of free will. The universe that Milton has created is one where the actions of individuals is never foreordained and one in which absolute obedience to God is the only path through which any good can ever u come to the individual. There is also never an instance where what God asks is even in modest proportion compared to what he gives. At the same time though, Milton makes absolutely clear that obedience to God does not protect either his dutiful from horrors. One need only remember the nightmare of Eve at the beginning of Book V, or the awful description by Raphael of the hollowing that he hears coming from Hell when he is dispatched there during creation. But God never exposes his creations to truly painful tests of their loyalty, not by any standard that fallen humankind. Paradise is perfectly sufficient for Adam and Eve in the state they are in just prior to their fall. Neither one truly aspires towards bettering themselves in a way that would increase their happiness and still maintain their total obedience to God. They proved insufficient to remain in Paradise, but Paradise may have proved insufficient for the beings they were to become had they not fallen.

Raphael conjectures when he meets Adam and Eve in Book V, that mankind may one day transubstantiate into a more spiritual being that will be able to cross the boundary between Paradise and Heaven.(493-503) He is not given any information by God save the fact that Satan is hanging around Paradise, so it is purely conjecture to assume that this is possibility. The same is also true of the conjectures that Michael makes about the once possible future of unfallen mankind in Book XI; the progeny of mankind would spread out of Paradise and into the world at large. Eden would have proved not large enough to hold all of mankind. I do not believe though that this is a reflection upon quality of Eden, but one upon its physical size. There is also no reason to believe that the progeny of Adam and Eve would have been just like them. They may very well have been designed to exist in a state closer to our own. Milton's God is the definition of infinite variety and it is impossible to quantify what he would have done if...

Ultimately in Paradise Lost questions of suffiency are nearly moot. Milton's initial purpose in the poem "to justify the ways of God to man," shows this better than anything else. God asks so little, but the stakes are so high for the fate of mankind that it becomes horrible to see just what happens. Since God is infinitely complicated just as he is infinitely powerful. It seems to me that Milton came to the conclusion that God could not be justified, let alone by human standards. God gives all and asks nearly nothing. When he is disobeyed, no one of his creations has the right to question the actions he takes. Through his ability to show just how simple the arrangement with God initially was, he shows how futile it is to try to justify anything he does prior to the fall.

Good Book.......2006-07-13

I ordered it. It said it would come in 1-2 weeks, but came in 2 days. Amazing.

Paradise Lost (Norton Critical Editions)

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The definitive Paradise Lost resource
an Invaluable text
Great edition, except. . .
Justifying Milton's Ways
Best I've seen

Paradise Lost (Norton Critical Editions)
John Milton
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393924289

Book Description

This Norton Critical Edition is designed to make Paradise Lost accessible for student readers, providing invaluable contextual and biographical information and the tools students need to think critically about this landmark epic. Gordon Teskey's freshly edited text of Milton's masterpiece is accompanied by a new introduction and substantial explanatory annotations. Spelling and punctuation have been modernized, the latter, importantly, within the limits imposed by Milton's syntax.

"Sources and Backgrounds" collects relevant passages from the Bible and Milton's prose writings, including selections from The Reason of Church Government and the full text of Areopagitica.

"Criticism" brings together classic interpretations by Andrew Marvell, John Dryden, Victor Hugo, and T. S. Eliot, among others, and the most important recent criticism and scholarship surrounding the epic, including essays by Northrop Frye, Barbara Lewalski, Christopher Ricks, and Helen Vendler.

A Glossary and Selected Bibliography are also included.

About the Series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide.

Customer Reviews:

The definitive Paradise Lost resource.......2007-10-07

It is a laborious read, but John Milton's Paradise Lost is worth it. First published in 1667, Paradise Lost remains, many contend, the greatest poem ever published in English, and Milton is deemed second only to Shakespeare among the pantheon of English writers. When reading Milton, be prepared for hundreds of references to Greek and Roman mythology that few of us (myself included) are familiar with as well as works saturated in biblical references and allusions and much obscure vocabulary. Happily, this Norton Critical Edition includes hundreds of notes--footnotes, so there is no disruptive flipping back and forth! This edition also offers dozens of critical essays on Paradise Lost, some dating back to its publication, a couple of Milton's prose works and an extensive glossary. Whether reading for pleasure or for (school) credit, this NCE of Paradise Lost is a godsend.

an Invaluable text.......2007-03-27

I ordered this text to help write a paper, and it has ended up serving as my primary text for my research. The text is at least as good as any of the other editions I have looked at, the footnotes are top-notch, and the critical articles are some of the siminal works. My only gripe is that there are no visual markers in the text for the footnotes, they are simply at the bottom of the page, signified by line number. Because of this, I sometimes don't realize that there are footnotes on a particular line, but this is a minor problem.

Great edition, except. . . .......2007-03-20

I love Norton Critical Editions. Or I try to. Gordon Teskey's new edition of Paradise Lost is for the most part worthy of the praise it has received in other reviews on this site. However, it has one unpardonable flaw, which is the editor's tampering with Milton's poetic line. Teskey and the Norton editors have for some reason decided to make it "easy to read" by adding parentheses to complex syntactical passages that Milton wrote on purpose to be. . . I dunno. . . hard? This move to simplify the syntax alters not only the experience of the poem but, worse, its meaning. Take for example these famous lines of Satan's from Book I, the first words spoken in Hell:

If thou beest he but O how fall'n! how changed
From him who in the happy realms of light
Clothed with transcendent brightness didst outshine
Myriads, thought bright! if he whom mutual league,
United thoughts and counsels, equal hope. . .

The meaning of the lines is confusing because Satan himself is confused, and now speaking for the first time a fallen language. The "he" from line one gets dropped until line four, when Satan remembers what he's talking about after wandering through a few memories of his life before the fall. The reader is supposed to feel the confusion and torment of this run-on sentence. But Teskey uses parentheses to clean up the very mess Milton wanted Satan to make of the sentence:

If thou beest he (but O how fallen! how changed
From him who in the happy realms of light
Clothed with transcendent brightness didst outshine
Myriads, though bright) if he whom. . .

This effectively dumbs down the poem and drastically changes it. And there is way too much of it in this edition. It is common enough to modernize spelling and syntax in editions of early modern poetry, but this is a bit too much. Readers don't buy this book because they want an easy read; most readers, even students, don't mind if it is a little hard and confusing in parts. Mostly, I bet they want to see what Milton and not his editors wrote.

Justifying Milton's Ways.......2006-09-23

I am always glad for an occasion to tread "with wand'ring steps and slow" through the lines of "Paradise Lost" yet once more. When I found out that Gordon Teskey, to my mind the great poet's strongest reader in many years, had edited a new Norton Critical Edition, I knew it was time to travel the path again. As his predecessor Scott Elledge did for a previous generation, Professor Teskey has created an edition and charted a reading experience of enormous richness for contemporary students and general readers alike, and forged a tool of unique value for teachers at all levels. The text is well edited, as it must be, with helpful but judicious modernization of some spelling. The footnotes are measured, thorough but never gratuitously scholastic, to serve the process of active reading. This is not an easy poem and no editor can change that, but one travels through it faster, though steady at speed, with Professor Teskey at one's side. The critical apparatus is also strikingly well done, with modern essays usefully divided by topics, such as 'On Satan' and 'On Feminism', in a manner that will serve all audiences well. Along with retaining essays by past titans of Milton criticism, from Marvell to T.S. Eliot, as well as much of the canonical modern criticism present in earlier Norton editions, this volume includes some of the best critical voices of the last twenty years, among them William Flesch, Regina Schwartz, Archie Burnett, Julia Walker and Mary Ann Radzinowicz. But these new contributions have been chosen, it seems to me, with a very judicious focus on their own lasting canonical value, rather than merely on their more recent dates of publication. Whether out of deference or editorial privilege, Professor Teskey saves the last word for himself in a short selection from an essay that has since become a chapter in his new book, "Delirious Milton" (Harvard, 2006), in which he charts a history of philosophical modernity through an inspired analysis of Milton's view of creation, divine and human. Whether you are coming to "Paradise Lost" for the first or the twentieth time, make this edition your primary text and make Professor Teskey's new study the next book you read. If you do, you'll experience a very fortunate fall followed by a delirium of the happiest sort.

Best I've seen.......2006-03-15

Nice edition of this work. Has good footnotes, and contains much besides the poem itself, including information on Milton's life, and a section on sources that Milton used, and "classic" and modern criticism of the work.

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Very Nice Edition of Paradise Lost
A Daring, Outstanding piece of Liturature
A misreading.
Great Edition!
Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost
John Milton
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 019280619X

Book Description

Paradise Lost is one of the greatest epic poems in the English language. It tells the story of the Fall of Man, a tale of immense drama and excitement, of rebellion and treachery, of innocence pitted against corruption, in which God and Satan fight a bitter battle for control of mankind's destiny. The struggle ranges across three worlds - heaven, hell, and earth - as Satan and his band of rebel angels plot their revenge against God. At the centre of the conflict are Adam and Eve, motivated by all too human temptations, but whose ultimate downfall is unyielding love. Milton's influence has been felt by many writers since, none more so in recent times than the novelist Philip Pullman. His acclaimed trilogy His Dark Materials takes its title from a line in the poem, and the worlds he created for Lyra and Will have entranced readers across generations. His introduction to the poem is a tribute that is both personal and full of insight; his enthusiasm for Milton's language, skill, and supreme gifts as a storyteller is infectious and instructive. He encourages readers above all to experience the poem for themselves, and surrender to its enchantment.

Customer Reviews:

Very Nice Edition of Paradise Lost.......2007-10-04

Of course Milton's poem greatness one of greatest ten classics of English Literature. This edition is wonderfully easy to read with good paper, margins, typeface. This is not collectors quality but it will serve to be my libraries copy of Paradise Lost.
Loved the essay by Pullman.

A Daring, Outstanding piece of Liturature.......2007-08-14

Paradise Lost is John Milton's epic poem about the fall of Lucifer and Adam and Eve's banishment from the Garden of Eden. The audacity of Milton opening the poem with declareing that he's going to pursue things unattempted in prose or rhyme and to justify the ways of God to men is enough to get people reading to ifinity. The succsesfull attempt to tell the orgin of Hell and the story of Adam and Eve outside of the bible is a daring mission Milton puts himself through but comes out joyusly triumphant. This poem is such a significant moment in literature that it has become mentioned in various History Channel documentaries and has been put in many prestige formats.
If you see this book on this website, BUY IT IMEDEATLY!

A misreading........2007-07-17

By making the embodiment of evil heroic Paradise Lost undermines our concept of the heroic. The poem does not represent evil as heroic. It represents the traditional virtues of the heroic as evil. Pullman has misread this completely and has framed the poem within this misreading.... "better to reign in hell than serve in heaven" is a fine line, noble, staunch, heroic, but it is also a lie as to the minions who hear it it collapses into "better to serve in hell than serve in heaven," which is facile.

Pullman's trilogy is very well written, but is, in part, a fleshed out misreading of Paradise Lost. That is fine, and I enjoyed reading it. But it is irritating when Pullman presents Milton as some kind of ally in this misreading, which Pullman does with this edition of Paradise Lost, and which Milton is not.

Great Edition!.......2007-01-12

This is "the" Paradise Lost to own... If you are new to Milton, Pullman's comments will guide you along.
What a beautiful edition. Classic illustrations; perfect fonts; Satan himself could never produce such a great volume.

Paradise Lost.......2006-04-11

Pullman has no understanding of Milton, actually he can do nothing but project his views on to Milton and Paridise Lost. This does neither he or Milton any good. I think if you want to read Milton then one should read Milton, I really think that after all these years he can stand on his own. But if you are impressed by the cover and the looks of a book, then this shallow self adualtion will do.

Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained (The Signet Classic Poetry Series)

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Magnetic Poetry
the Signet edition is my favorite
Shakespeare's Successor
A Blind Man creates a Sensational Poem!!!
Satan needs a hug

Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained (The Signet Classic Poetry Series)
John Milton
Manufacturer: Signet Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451527925
Release Date: 2001-11-07

Book Description

Here in one volume are the complete texts of two of the greatest epic poems in English literature, each a profound exploration of the moral problems of God's justice. They demonstrate Milton's genius for classicism and innovation, narrative and drama-and are a grand example of what Samuel Johnson called his "peculiar power to astonish."

Edited by Christopher Ricks
With a New Introduction by Dr. Susanne Woods

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Now had the great Proclaimer, with a voice More awful than the sound of trumpet, cried Repentance, and Heaven's kingdom nigh at hand To all baptized. To his great baptism flocked With awe the regions round, and with them came From Nazareth the son of Joseph deemed --Milton.

Customer Reviews:

Magnetic Poetry.......2007-05-13

This is what illegal drugs will get you "Paradise Lost," even if it is regained!

the Signet edition is my favorite.......2007-05-06

I have maybe a half-dozen editions of "Paradise Lost."

Whenever I need to reread it quickly, I pick up the Signet Classic edition. It's got to be my favorite.

There are more thorough editions, certainly. But the thing I like about the Signet edition is that it's got this whole Goldilocks thing going on with the footnotes. Not too few, not too many.

In the text, words and phrases that are glossed at the bottom of the page have a little circle (a degree sign) next to them. You look down if you need to; if you don't, you keep reading. I like this because many editions don't indicate in the running text when something has a gloss: one must flip to the back of the book to hunt this out for oneself.

Additionally, there are not so many footnotes that they clutter up half (or more) of the page: I'm sure you're familiar with this sight.

Originally this was edited by Christopher Ricks (of Cambridge). In addition to the bibliography, chronology, and footnotes, he also wrote a short introduction. That unremarkable introduction has now been supplanted by one done by Susanne Woods, to which I am also indifferent.

The Signet edition also fits snugly in your hand, as other, meatier editions do not.

Too bad Amazon buries this edition in the back pages. I had to hunt around a while before I could find it!

Shakespeare's Successor.......2006-10-11

"Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Regained" really entitle John Milton to be called Shakespeare's successor. While the material may seem to be drawn out at times, we must remember that Milton is exercising his mastery of the English language. It is my opinion that you will enjoy this book the most after you have read the Bible. Basically, "Paradise Lost" is this. Satan has been defeated by the forces of God; Satan tries to cheer up what's left of his defeated forces; he contemplates another move; like a good leader, he listens to what his different allies have to say; he then journeys out of hell to find something he can use; God becomes aware of Satan's 2nd wind and fears that man will be corrupted by Satan; Jesus offers to sacrifice himself for the salvation of man; the angel Uriel sees Satan and warns the angel Gabriel of Satan's presence; Gabriel goes to Eden and explains to Adam how God's angels defeated Satan as well as the story of creation; Satan gets Eve to eat the forbidden apple; in sorrow, Adam decides to share Eve's fate; before being cast out, the angel Michael encourages Adam by telling of the coming of Christ. It is interesting how Milton was able to make Satan human and sympathetic. One really interesting thing is that Satan tricks Eve into eating the forbidden apple, but he honestly thinks it is an absurd rule God gave them: "...can it be a sin to know, / Can it be death? and do they only stand / By ignorance, is that their happy state, / The proof of their obedience and their faith?" (Book 4, Lines 517-520). If I may be permitted a slight digression, in "Bedazzled," Peter Cook as the devil hinted at how he thought this was absurd: "I'll tell you why Adam and Eve were so happy. They were pig ignorant." The most frightening thing about this book is that at times, Satan does have reason on his side. Moving on to "Paradise Regained," that is a longer and more articulate telling of Christ's temptation in the desert. While some people may find it disturbing to see a human, sympathetic, and at times very rational Satan, Milton truly deserves to be called William Shakespeare's successor.

A Blind Man creates a Sensational Poem!!!.......2005-04-19

+++++

(Note that this review is for the book "Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained" published by Signet Classic in 2001.)

"Of Man's First disobedience, and the Fruit
Of the Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste
Brought Death into the World, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat"

Thus begins some say the greatest and most controversial epic non-rhyming poem (which has two parts, some say two poems) in English literature. The first part was published in 1667 and the second part in 1671 by a then blind poet named John Milton (1608 to 1674).

"Paradise Lost" consists of twelve long chapters or "books." "Paradise Regained" is the more subdued and much simpler second part and consists of four books. The first part is centered around the biblical story of the fall of Adam and Eve and ranges from heaven to hell while the second part is the story of Satan's triple temptation of the Son of God in the wilderness.

Both parts of this poem can be read for their magnificent poetry, their powerful imagery and language, their imaginative vision and storytelling, or their complex and passionate view of human suffering.

My favorite lines from this poem are:

" The mind is its own place, and in itself,
Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n."

Besides the poem, this particular book has three main features:

(1) Introduction by Dr. Susanne Woods, a Professor of English (at Wheaton College in Massachusetts). It is excellent and provides valuable insight on Milton's poem.

(2) Notes and Footnotes by Chris Ricks, a professor of humanities (at Boston University). Each chapter or book of the poem begins with a brief "argument," a note that summarizes in modern English each book's contents. I found these an invaluable aid. As well, there are footnotes throughout that help the reader with obscure language and indicate nuances and puns.

(3) Chronology of Milton's life. When did Milton go blind? Was Milton married? Was Milton ever arrested? These are the sorts of questions that are answered instantly in this section.

This poem can be a challenging read but ultimately worth it. I recommend not rushing when reading it.

The artwork on the cover of this book is impressive. It is an image entitled "The Shepherd's Dream" (from "Paradise Lost") by artist Henry Fuseli.

Finally, to get an extraordinary visual impression of the first, longer part of this poem, I recommend "Dore's Illustrations for Paradise Lost" (1993) by Gustave Dore.

In conclusion, be sure two read this epic poem to see why it "has thrilled, challenged, and sometimes dismayed readers from the seventeenth to twenty-first century!"

(published 2001; introduction; general note on this text; a note on this edition; chronology; "Paradise Lost" in 12 books; "Paradise Regained" in 4 books; main narrative 360 pages; selected bibliography)

+++++

Satan needs a hug.......2005-03-07

The connected plot of "Paradise Lost" and its accompanying poem "Paradise Regained" contains no surprises for anyone who is even casually familiar with the Bible. Milton, however, does something remarkable the Bible doesn't do--he inflates Satan from a mere flat symbol of evil into a complex personality that enlivens his identity as the principal enemy of God, Jesus, and man. Who is Satan, where did he come from, why does he do the things he does, and, most importantly, why is he an indispensable part of the Christian myth? Milton takes the initiative of asking and answering these questions.

Divided into twelve "books," "Paradise Lost" begins with a war in Heaven instigated by the angel Lucifer who, with the help of many rebellious cohorts, tries to wrest control of the celestial kingdom from God. Like a school principal putting kids in detention for starting a food fight in the cafeteria, God deals swiftly and severely with the miscreants, hurling them "headlong flaming from the ethereal sky/With hideous ruin and combustion down/To bottomless perdition, there to dwell/In adamantine chains and penal fire." That's powerful stuff.

The rebel angels, now transformed into devils for their treachery, are imprisoned in Hell, a hot, smelly, miserable place, with Lucifer (now named Satan) their lord to dwell in a palace called Pandemonium--the place of all demons. Milton assigns names of heathen gods to the devils and allows three of them to offer advice on the proper course of action for the hell-bound. The bellicose Moloch insists on resuming war with Heaven, the rational Belial believes a peaceful acceptance of their sentence will eventually restore them to God's good graces, and the pragmatic Mammon suggests they should establish and rule Hell as their new dominion rather than return to Heaven as servants. But Satan has another idea--to travel through Chaos (the dark, lifeless void connecting the realms) to Earth to corrupt Man, the new being with whom God plans to replace the expelled angels in Heaven.

Satan would be uninteresting if he were no more than a fist-shaking, teeth-gnashing villain, but Milton endows this vilest of creatures with the most human of consciences. While on his nefarious mission, as he rapturously views the luxuriant Eden, he laments, "O sun, to tell thee how I hate thy beams/That bring to my remembrance from what state/I fell, how glorious once above thy sphere;" and the jealousy mixed with sorrow is palpable. He knows he did wrong and momentarily regrets his misbehavior, but he also knows that there can never be a reconciliation between him and God, and therefore resigns himself to be forever the king of evil and vie for man's soul. It is here that Satan eavesdrops (pun not intended) on Adam and Eve talking about the Tree of Knowledge, the fruit of which they are forbidden to eat.

Regarding the Tree of Knowledge, the poem inevitably raises the issue of entrapment. What is the purpose of the Tree? Simply that God demands obedience, and obedience can be tested only if there exists something to provide an opportunity to disobey. The material component of this opportunity is the Tree; the human component is the Tempter, who of course is Satan. Jesus, as narrated in "Paradise Regained," is the exemplary resister of Temptation, rejecting Satan's offer of world domination and his challenges to test his faith in God by turning stones to bread and casting himself from the top of the temple's spire. Through embellishment and dramatization, Milton makes ideas like these more explicit in the "Paradise Lost/Regained" poems than they are in the Bible.

Completely blind by the time he wrote these poems, John Milton was a man of strong but curious convictions--he defended the freedom of the press, but he lauded Cromwell and condoned regicide. As poems, "Paradise Lost/Regained" can be read as sacred, reflecting much of English religious thinking of the seventeenth century, or as heroic, subtly illustrating Milton's assiduous efforts to reform religion and government. But regardless of its subtext, it's no wonder that "Paradise Lost" has become one of the most celebrated accomplishments in the English language--the book of Genesis could not have been re-imagined more vividly, more terrifyingly, more beautifully.

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An entertaining battle of wills
These two are supposed to be adults?
Hate You! Love You!
Simply the Best
her best

Adam's Fall
Sandra Brown
Manufacturer: Fanfare
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0553567683
Release Date: 1994-11-01

Book Description

For the past few years, Lilah Mason has watched her sister find love, get married, and have children, while she's been more than content to channel her energies into her career. A physical therapist with an unsinkable spirit and unwavering compassion, she's one of the best in the field. But when Lilah takes on a demanding new case, her patient's life isn't the only one transformed. Her new patient, Adam, challenges her methods and authority at every turn. Yet Lilah is determined to help him recover the life he's lost. What she can't see, until it's much too late, is that while she's winning Adam's battle, she's losing her heart... And as professional duty and her passionate yearnings clash, she must choose the course right for them both.

Customer Reviews:

An entertaining battle of wills.......2007-07-07

We were first introduced to these two strong characters in FANTA C, which featured Thad and Elizabeth. From the moment Adam and Lilah laid eyes on each other, it was obvious that getting these two together would prove to be very interesting and Sandra Brown certainly made sure of that in ADAM'S FALL.

As the owner of the well-known Cavanaugh hotel chain, Adam is a wealthy and handsome business magnate who had the world at his feet. Then his world comes crumbling down when an unfortunate mountain climbing expedition killed two of his friends and left him with a debilitating spinal injury. But for this once seemingly invincible entrepreneur, the effect is not only physical. Despite having numerous doctors at his disposal, no amount of therapy could help him. But two of his close friends refused to give up. Elizabeth hoped that her sister Lilah could help him. But first they must convince her to take on the job, which is a challenge in itself knowing how much Lilah detested Adam.

Despite her rebellious and carefree persona, Lilah Mason is one of the best in her field. Possessing a remarkable spirit and unwavering determination, she has helped many patients into recovery. But she is about to face the toughest challenge of her life when her sister and brother-in-law beg her to help Adam. Lilah knows that men like Adam are the worst patients. Worst of all, there is no stopping the ongoing antagonism between them from the moment they met. However, is she willing to set this aside and let compassion take over?

This was quite a delightful read. Lilah is such a riot - vibrant, charming and stubborn. I enjoyed the way she turned Adam's life upside down the moment she stepped into his villa. The way she dealt with his embitterness and bore the brunt of his temper and recalcitrance showed her strength and proved her to be a very worthy partner for Adam, whose arrogance would have you cheering for Lilah. While Adam's attitude may prove too much at times, I believe that the author was trying to show us the emotional and psychological effects that a serious injury could cause. And this is the message of the story. It shows us that determination, compassion and inner strength can make a whole world of difference.

Pretty good for an earlier novel...

These two are supposed to be adults? .......2006-06-02

This book was about a man who was injured in a mountain climbing accident and his relationship with his physical therapist. Lilah and Adam had been previously acquainted and hated each other tremendously. You'd think this would be a good prelude to a steamy romance, but it was not. Adam speaks to Lilah in such a filthy manner it's a wonder how she ever falls in love with him. It's also a wonder how he ever falls in love with her ~ her character is unbearable. Her "tough love" approach should have applied only to his therapy, but it didn't. She had a chip on her shoulder throughout the novel and was obnoxious, angry and downright hostile to Adam. I saw hate all over the place, but never love.

This novel was a huge disappointment. I felt the story was rushed and underdeveloped. Brown is a good author, but this wasn't one of her better books. If you're looking for a good romance by Brown, buy SUNNY CHANDLER'S RETURN or LED ASTRAY.

Hate You! Love You!.......2005-09-29

I enjoyed reading this story about Lilah and Adam. Their hate love, in that order, relationship was very lively and it just made you want to keep reading to find out how in the world they would end up together or if they would end up together. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five was because there were some scenes in the story that I just thought needed more work, especially Adams girlfriend/lover, or whatever she was, but overall very entertaining!

Simply the Best.......2005-09-27

Adam Cavanaugh was on top of his life, young, successful, rich, good looking, athletic, you name it, nothing can go wrong with him. Then a mountain climbing accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Lilah Mason was his nemesis long before the unfortunate accident. They simply rubbed each other the wrong way since the first time they met. Lilah despised Adam's lifestyle, and the dislike was mutual as Adam also hated her sassy comments, the way she dressed, etc. Too bad, Lilah was the best physical therapist everybody in his circle knew. So they voted for her to be his physical therapist. At first she refused and he fought all the time. But Lilah didn't back off, she had lots of tricks up her sleeves to deal with difficult patient. Adam was in for the shock of his life, his brooding was no contest against Lilah's determination and cajoling, and although they were bickering day in and out, there were also tender moments. The words banters are hilariously funny. I love Lilah and poor Adam is a worthy opponent for her.
I have read three books with the same plot and story line: Come Lie with Me by Linda Howard and Promise Me Forever by Debbie Macomber and needless to say Adam's Fall by Sandra Brown is THE BEST of three.

her best .......2005-09-01

I am usually wary of Sandra Brown books...she makes her charaters unnecessarily complicated (usually attached but drawn to someone else types) that I usually dont enjoy. But this book was a bombshell. The first heroine with an actual spine. Easily her best, in my opinion!

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Excellent resource
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Correct information for Kastan edition
Brings Milton Alive

Paradise Lost
John Milton , David Scott Kastan , and Merritt Yerkes Hughes
Manufacturer: Hackett Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0872207331

Book Description

Paradise Lost remains as challenging and relevant today as it was in the turbulent intellectual and political environment in which it was written. This edition aims to bring the poem as fully alive to a modern reader as it would have been to Miltonâ€™s contemporaries. It provides a newly edited text of the 1674 edition of the poemâ€"the last of Milton's lifetimeâ€"with carefully modernized spelling and punctuation. Marginal glosses define unfamiliar words, and extensive annotations at the foot of the page clarify Miltonâ€™s syntax and poetics, and explore the range of literary, biblical, and political allusions that point to his major concerns. David Kastanâ€™s lively Introduction considers the central interpretative issues raised by the poem, demonstrating how thoroughly it engaged the most vitalâ€"and contestedâ€"issues of Miltonâ€™s time, and which reveal themselves as no less vital, and perhaps no less contested, today.

The edition also includes an essay on the text, a chronology of major events in Miltonâ€™s life, and a selected bibliography, as well as the first known biography of Milton, written by Edward Phillips in 1694.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent resource.......2007-10-05

Contains extensive information in the introduction that is lends an understanding to anyone reading any of Milton's work. This particular version is very inexpensive, and contains everything one would need to understand PL. Excellent!

Paradise Lost.......2007-05-12

Of all the books I have ever read in my life so far, about eighty books a year, this is absolutely by far the book of books the greatest book ever written and not because of the subject, religion, but the language and style. Paradise Lost was written in 1667 and who has written a book like it since?

Paradise Lost.......2006-11-10

This is an outstanding edition of Milton's classic work. Kastan provides references for words that have fallen out of modern day usage, making the text easier for today's reader to understand. The text is full of extensive footnotes, providing clarification, background data, and, for further study, references to Milton's original sources. The font size and paper quality of this paperback text make it a pleasure to read and transport.

Correct information for Kastan edition.......2005-11-10

The Kastan edition of Paradise Lost is available in paperback for $9.95. It is published by Hackett Publishing Company. The ISBN is 0872207331. It contains the full work annotated, with Introduction, by David Scott Kastan.

Brings Milton Alive.......2005-10-12

It is so much more enjoyable to listen to Milton or to follow along as it is read rather than to read old English dry. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have a professional actor doing the reading. The only negative is that this CD set is an abridged version and not the entire Paradise Lost but it includes most of the best parts.

Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna

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detailed coverage of complex wheeling-and-dealing
Highly researched and finely written
This is an exciting well researched history
ANOTHER GREAT ONE BY ZAMOYSKI; ZAMOYSKI IS "RESEARCH ROYALTY."
Dividing The Loot

Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna
Adam Zamoyski
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0060775181
Release Date: 2007-07-03

Book Description

In the wake of Napoleon's disastrous Russian campaign of 1812, the French emperor's imperious grip on Europe began to weaken, raising the question of how the continent was to be reconstructed after his defeat. While the Treaty of Paris that followed Napoleon's exile in 1814 put an end to a quarter century of revolution and war in Europe, it left the future of the continent hanging in the balance.

Eager to negotiate a workable and lasting peace, the major powers—Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia—along with a host of lesser nations, began a series of committee sessions in Vienna: an eight-month-long carnival that combined political negotiations with balls, dinners, artistic performances, hunts, tournaments, picnics, and other sundry forms of entertainment for the thousands of aristocrats who had gathered in the Austrian capital. Although the Congress of Vienna resulted in an unprecedented level of stability in Europe, the price of peace would be high. Many of the crucial questions were decided on the battlefield or in squalid roadside cottages amid the vagaries of war. And the proceedings in Vienna itself were not as decorous as is usually represented.

Internationally bestselling author Adam Zamoyski draws on a wide range of original sources, which include not only official documents, private letters, diaries, and firsthand accounts, but also the reports of police spies and informers, to reveal the steamy atmosphere of greed and lust in which the new Europe was forged. Meticulously researched, masterfully told, and featuring a cast of some of the most influential and powerful figures in history, including Tsar Alexander, Metternich, Talleyrand, and the Duke of Wellington, Rites of Peace tells the story of these extraordinary events and their profound historical consequences.

Customer Reviews:

detailed coverage of complex wheeling-and-dealing.......2007-10-08

This is centered on the Congress of Vienna, but it also covers the broader diplomatic process at the end of the Napoleonic wars, including the first Peace of Paris, the Hundred Days and the final introduction of the Congress System.

Zamoyski covers both the diplomatic negotiations and the seemingly endless flirtations and amours surrounding them. He is particularly fortunate in covering the Congress of Vienna, as Metternich had thoughtfully arranged extensive spy coverage and was also intercepting everyone's mail, thereby providing a vast horde of lurid trivia for future historians. At times the endless romantic details become distracting, but they also help set the mood for the congress and remind us of the many distractions facing the diplomats. Also, in an era of absolute monarchs, personal issues could matter a great deal.

By comparison with the 1919 Versailles Settlement (see for example Margaret Macmillan's "Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World") I was struck by the relative reasonableness and amicability of the initial Peace of Paris. Zamoyski portrays the initial allied entry to Paris as almost a grand family reunion. Yes, it was an occupying army, but everyone was glad the long wars were finally over and eager to revisit friends, relations, or old mistresses. Rather than looting, the invaders indulged in massive shopping sprees. The new Louvre art collection was deemed a masterpiece which should not be disrupted. In a similar spirit, the allies saw the need for a generous peace with France, which would remove most of Napoleon's acquisitions, but which recognized that France needed to be part of a new European balance of power and which thus aimed to avoid antagonizing or humiliating her.

Since France's fate was apparently resolved in the Peace of Paris, the Congress of Vienna was focused on the endless bickering between the victors over how to divide the rest of Europe, especially Poland and Germany. Zamoyski shows how France, in the shape of Talleyrand, was able to exploit its supposedly neutral role at Vienna to once again become a major diplomatic force by acting as a representative of the smaller powers against the attempted dominance of the Big Four (Russia, Britain, Prussia and Austria).

Despite endless dancing, festivals, romances and bickering, the Congress did slowly work its way through a series of awkward and reluctant horse trades of territory between the powers. Unlike Versailles, strikingly little thought was given to the wishes of the inhabitants of the affected territories. If the King of Prussia needed an extra 10,000 souls to balance his account, neither he nor anyone else seemed particularly concerned about which nationality or creed he acquired.

Then, famously, the Congress was disrupted by the 100 Days of Napoleon's return from Elba. This unfortunately did lead to significantly harsher terms for France, including further territorial losses and the dismantlement of most of the Louvre collections. But, as presented by Zamoyski, it made little difference to the overall shape of the European Settlement.

Zamoyski writes well and managed to keep me engaged through a complex set of wheeling and dealing, both diplomatic and romantic. He does sometime indulge a little too much in small details, but he also helps remind us of how much individuals, with their own whims and foibles, matter in shaping international politics.

Highly researched and finely written.......2007-08-30

Zamoyski carefully marshals his facts through the body of the book saving his opinions and historical observations until the fascinating final chapter. While the detail is tedious at times [love affairs, table settings and womens' dressing gowns), the book shines with scholarship and detail. Talleyrand fascinates in his brilliance, durability and negotiating finesse representing la belle France' for its role as convict and heavy. Castlereagh also shines until the end of the Congress and then to read about his final tragic end saddens. The focus tho is really on Metternich and Alexander of Russia both who come off as fully alive characters in a stirring drama of diplomacy occurring two hundred years ago. A worthy and informative read.

This is an exciting well researched history.......2007-08-20

One of the most neglected and least understood periods of the early 19th Century was the peace settlement that ending the Napoleonic wars, the Congress of Vienna. Over the years there have been few books in English on the Congress of Vienna; the most notable was The Congress of Vienna a Study in Allied Unity 1812-1822, by Harold Nicolson, a solid but rather dry work on the subject. Rites of Peace by Adam Zamoyski, is a fast pace, well written book on this fascinating topic.
So much of what we thought we knew about the congress seems to be incorrect, Alexander l takes on the same characteristic of megalomania that Napoleon suffered from between 1811-1814. Metternich, is portrayed as being far more interested in his love life then fate of Europe and so forth. A great book on a difficult and confusing topic.

ANOTHER GREAT ONE BY ZAMOYSKI; ZAMOYSKI IS "RESEARCH ROYALTY.".......2007-08-03

I have also read,"The Polish Way," "The Forgotten Heroes,"(about The Polish air Force in WW II - Saving London), and just thoroughly enjoyed this one. One thing about all of Zamoyski's books is that they are, above and beyond, the best researched books, that I've probably ever read. I so look forward to the next Zamoyski work. One gets wonderfully lost in reading his work. Quite the brain massage. Highly recommended!!!

Dividing The Loot.......2007-07-23

This is a difficult book to review. On the one hand, the author explains clearly and astutely the machinations of the representatives of the Great Powers in what later became known as the Congress of Vienna. What can be confusing is made very clear. On the other hand, there are myriad errors when the author turns to military matters in the campaigns of 1813, 1814, and 1815, which are integral to understanding the period and the different war aims of the belligerents.

There is too much fluff in the book. The intricate sub-plot of who was doing what to whom, where, and how many times regarding the relationships between the main characters in the drama and their search for female companionship clouds the real issue in this volume and detracts from it. Leaving that nonsense out would have streamlined to book and made it easier to read and much more interesting. However, this is a minor flaw and is evident as a sub-plot and not the main thrust of the book.

There are a few areas of caution that readers should look out for. Unfortunately, the terms 'ogre' and 'megalomaniac' are resurrected once again to describe Napoleon, which is the result of allied propaganda during the period and especially in 1813-1815 (there was also a charge that Napoleon was guilty of 'arbitrary brutality' which had apparently shocked Alexander, who had been at least implicated in his own father's murder and who later had honored the murderers). While there is a concerted effort to understand the personalities on the allied political side of the picture, there is apparently not done for Napoleon, who was the main actor in the drama, even when he was in exile. The old pejorative stand-bys used to describe him detract from the overall value of the book.

Further, the author is too kind to both Talleyrand and Alexander. While that approach can be forgiven somewhat in Alexander's case (though he was a particide and a coward), it really cannot be in Talleyrand's case. There is too much information readily available for Talleyrand, and his treachery towards his own country and countrymen, his blatant betrayal of Napoleon and France, as well as his self-seeking that has been interpreted once again as being for his country is an inaccurate portrayal of the creature that was Talleyrand. For example, only a few lines are given to Marmont's betrayal of Napoleon in 1814, which was engineered by the slippery former French minister, and it was this betrayal that lost the chance of a regency being established for Napoleon's son, which was one of the key points the mutinous French marshals desired in Napoleon's abdication. Marmont and Talleyrand, Marmont being a mere pawn of the former bishop, ensured this would not happen and that the Bourbons would be brought back, which was Talleyrand's aim in the first place.

Conversely, the author is expert in describing the war aims and conduct of the allies in 1813-1814. Seldom has this been brought out so clearly and with the research to back it up. The poor treatment of the King of Saxony by the allies; the shocking way in which most of the states of the Confederation of the Rhine were treated by the allies; the greed of Prussia, whose vaunted 'War of Liberation' meant how much territory they 'liberated' to be gobbled up by themselves, is all brought out clearly and succinctly. This has been generally overlooked in previous works on this period and it is about time that it was brought out.

Factual errors are painfully evident. There was no last stand of the French Imerial Guard at Waterloo as the author states. Further, he states that 'Prussia...had fought alongside the French more often than against them,' a statement that cannot be historically supported. The author understates the strength of Vandamme's corps at Kulm in 1813 by at least a factor of three and maintains that Vandamme's command was destroyed at Kulm when it hadn't been the same thing happened in the author's previous volume on the Russian campaign when he pronounced the Russian artillery to be the best in Europe in 1812-that wasn't the case by a long shot). The most telling error, one which has been repeated by more than one author, is that Napoleon was unbending to allied peace overtures in 1813-1814 and that Metternich, was playing the role of mediator in 1813 as an honest broker. This is far from correct. The allies wanted Napoleon gone and this is clearly stated in Metternich's memoirs. The allies intentionally established the price of peace so high that they knew Napoleon would not accept them, and Metternich had no intention of doing anything in 1813 except aligning Austria with the allies.

These errors, however, are not fatal to the overall impact of the book. The author brings order out of chaos with his description of the machinations of the European powers when they divided the loot after the Napoleon's defeat and he pulls no punches. While the author is overly kind to Alexander, Metternich, and Talleyrand, and much too hard on Napoleon, he deftly paints a very correct picture of Prussia's designs on Germany and what the point of the Congress was. Further, he courageously points out that the Congress of Vienna probably caused more problems than it solved. While there were no general European Wars for another hundred years, there were rebellions and wars in Europe following Napoleon's downfall because the peace was not brokered fairly, but for the benefit of the great powers only.

This book is highly recommended, even though care has to be taken in places. The author's sorting out of the basket of snakes that was European power politics in 1815 is a definite accomplishment and anything by this author on the period should be taken up and read. This is a gallant, though flawed, attempt at a very difficult period and the author is to be congratulated on his effort and the product of it.

Adam Raccoon at Forever Falls (Parables for Kids)

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Great story & illustrations!
Adam Raccoon at Forever Falls

Adam Raccoon at Forever Falls (Parables for Kids)
Glen Keane
Manufacturer: Chariot Family Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1555130879

Book Description

PARABLES FOR KIDS
Let Adam Raccoon and King Aren the Lion help your kids learn biblical truth. Children will see themselves in rascally, fun-loving Adam who wants to follow his King, but finds it so easy to stray. The wise, loving King Aren will remind them of Jesus, their King.

PARABLES FOR KIDS will
Open doors for you to talk with your kids about their relationship to God.
Challenge your kids to follow Jesus.
Entertain your whole family with delightful picture stories.

When Glen Keane isn't writing and illustrating Parables for Kids, he is a directing animator for Walt Disney Pictures. His work has appeared in many animated features including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Pocahontas. Glen, his wife, and their

Value taught: Salvation

Customer Reviews:

Great story & illustrations!.......2003-05-19

My 3-year old son LOVES this book. My husband reads it to him multiple times every night at bedtime, at his request. It has a great lesson & the illustrations are wonderful. Adam is certainly a character that little people can relate to.

Adam Raccoon at Forever Falls.......2000-05-05

I thought this was an excellent book for my 7 year old. She learned that forever doesn't mean forever.

The Wild West: The Log of a Cowboy, the Rise and Fall of Jesse James, the Cowboy Detective (The Wild West)

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The Wild West: The Log of a Cowboy, the Rise and Fall of Jesse James, the Cowboy Detective (The Wild West)
Andy Adams , Charles Siringo , and Robertus Love
Manufacturer: Audio Literature
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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Paradise Lost
best piece of literature ever?
this is ...
A masterpiece for the ages.
Simply beautiful!

Milton: Paradise Lost (2nd Edition)
Alastair Fowler
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0582215188

Book Description

Published in the Longman Annotated English Poets series, this is the eagerly awaited second edition of Alistair Fowler's annotated edition of Paradise Lost. Since the first edition was published in 1968, this has become the acknowledged authoritative guide to Milton's poem. The second edition maintains the detailed annotation that has for many years provided interesting and comprehensive explanation to this difficult but compelling poem, making it accessible to the scholar, student and general reader alike.

This is the first study that is based on the first edition of Paradise Lost (1667), which is now widely accepted as being closer to Milton's intention and more accurate that the 1664 edition.

The revised introduction describes the poem and its remarkable critical reception, surveying the nine thousand or so critical contributions devoted to it, not least during the last thirty years. Besides providing glosses and illustrations of sources and analogues, the notes refer to extra-literary contexts, religious, political and scientific, aiming to explain Milton's imaginary astronomy, in particular, more fully than any other edition has attempted. The notes also provide an unusual amount of critical commentary, in such a way as to engage with current thought about the poem.

Customer Reviews:

Paradise Lost.......2006-09-01

I loved this poem....I tell you I was rooting for Satan all the way...

best piece of literature ever?.......2005-01-22

many would argue this is correct, many prove themselves ignorant while trying to prove otherwise. this is a work of the ages; it contains an understanding that surpasses "eloquence". its subtle vision could only have come to a mind like Milton's, whose lack of physical vision helped him gain a keen insight into the mysteries of man. though there are many who will never understand this monumental masterpiece, Milton's Paradise Lost will continue to be read by intelligent inquisitors for ages to come. Fowler's annotations are lengthy and help to build Milton's image of our fall piece by piece. this is an excellent annotated version of (what i would argue is) the best work of literature ever written in any language (sorry shakespeare fans)...

this is ..........2002-11-19

its long and boring. i would never reccomend this book. it has no eloquence or anything, just words. anyone could've written that book. its impossible to understand. what type of book would make it self so hard to understand, so slow to read. thats not a good book, in my opinion. i digress.

A masterpiece for the ages........1999-04-15

To be honest, I have never a big fan of poetry, but John Milton's epic changed that. I only decided to read this book after religion(and anti-religion) discussions started to heat up in my school. When I read Paradise Lost, I quickly stopped thinking of it as a poem, but as an epic of astronomical proportions that identifies many truths about humanity. The reading can be rather difficult at times, but with Alastair Fowler's wonderful annotations, it is possible for readers of any level to comprehend and enjoy Paradise Lost.

Milton's sympathetic view of Lucifer in his rebellion against heaven is very insightful and compelling. I loved this poem, but I would only recommend it to readers of a slightly older age, as you have to be able to understand his blank verse writing to fully enjoy this epic.

Simply beautiful!.......1997-12-31

_Paradise Lost_ will of course continue to be reproduced, but the content will essentially remain the same. The question is which of the countless number of editions to purchase. Fowler's editing and copious yet useful annotations are first rate for any single edition of PL. Though most publishers treat epic poetry as though it were pulp-fiction, Longman dignifies this volume in binding better than most hardcovers, for they have sewn its acid-free leaves in signatures. It is simply beautiful, and it is simply the best edition if one wants to study Milton's epic carefully.

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